


in a third's eye

by reonjeons



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Idol-Verse, M/M, POV Outsider, Secret Relationship, jisung is a curious boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29691513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reonjeons/pseuds/reonjeons
Summary: Their relationship can be different. It's a not-so mystery, but Jisung still wants his answers.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 18
Kudos: 174
Collections: Challenge #5 — I heard a secret..





	in a third's eye

Jisung has always been a curious boy. His mother loves to remind him of that. At the age of five, he’d been curious about how people seemed to move along with the music, so he had easily said yes when his family offered to give him dance lessons - out of curiosity. He’s always thinking, always fond of trivial things, and always has questions at the tip of his tongue - why are vultures bald? Why do dogs and cats hate each other when they say animals rely on instinct? Was there some kind of bad history among their ancestors that it became so ingrained into their DNA?

Dogs and cats aside, Jisung is always eager to learn things. Like why Jaemin loves to do so much _aegyo_ off and on cam, or why Chenle likes to drag him to watch a Stephen Curry game even though Jisung has more than once said he has no interest in the sport. Like why Jeno purposefully doesn’t let anyone sit beside him on movie nights when he and Jisung are the first to wash up and settle in the living room. Or why Renjun lets Jeno steal his candies in their shared room but pinches Jisung when he does it.

Currently though, as they’re filming the first part of their relay cam content, specifically, he wonders why Jeno is so adamant on changing his time slot to 2 AM despite the one hour difference from his assigned one, especially when filming at 2 AM would definitely feel like 3 AM still. He swears there was fire in his hyung’s eyes. And he also swears he caught Renjun biting back a smile towards the other. 

Was that something to be intrigued about? It wouldn’t be if not for his recent observation between the two these past few days. 

Jisung has always suspected that Jeno and Renjun seem to be that different type of close friends. They’re of the same age ( _exactly one month apart_ , they always brag), they’ve been roommates for some time in the past, they both like movies, have the same preference for snacks, they share the same humour - _oh_ , literally everything that makes up a couple of besties. Nothing different there, actually - sometimes he thinks that maybe he’s just thinking a little too much into it since he somehow had developed a habit of overthinking.

Or _maybe_ it’s not a delusion and that it’s just the way they look at each other. 

↞⧫↠

The first time Jisung starts to get curious is when he sees Jeno in the kitchen with Renjun. Not shocking enough for others - two bros living together standing in the kitchen they share? Hello? - but here’s the thing; Jeno is rarely in the kitchen. No scratch that - Jeno is rarely in the kitchen with a knife in an awkward grip, sloppily and slowly chopping onions, with Renjun beside him stirring something in a pot. 

Jisung halts in his steps - eyeing the unfamiliar scene. Jeno says something inaudible, but Renjun seems to catch the phrase because the latter is looking back at the other, eyeing the sad chopped onions, with an exasperated sigh. 

_Oh no_ , Jisung thinks although there’s a laugh threatening to get out of his chest, _he is going to be in trouble for ruining Renjun-hyung’s onions_. And he readies himself for it - to make fun of Jeno being chastised by the ever-ticking time bomb that is Renjun - except that it never comes. 

What comes instead is a twinkle of Renjun’s precious giggles, bouncing off in the walls of their small kitchen, and overpowering the sound of the pot boiling. Jisung’s mean grin falls out, taking in place a surprised curl of his lips. He lets out a confused noise with a tilt of his head and the sound breaking whatever giggling thing Jeno and Renjun have got going on in front of him. 

It’s the way they jump away from each other that makes Jisung raise a brow as he eyes the sudden space between them (which could have gone unnoticed if not in the way they _painfully_ and visibly flinched). Renjun’s hand lets go of Jeno’s forearm as if it burned him, and Jeno suddenly straightens his back like a surprised cat. There was nothing to be flustered about, so Jisung squints at the conspicuous red in Renjun’s ears.

“Hey,” Renjun says, suddenly awkward. It makes Jisung squirm because what was there to feel awkward about? He was pretty sure he didn’t interrupt something, right?

Or did he?

Jisung only hummed in recognition. With that, Renjun totters back to his pot, stirring it once before putting the lid over. Jisung, curious as he is, easily lets the situation go as he didn’t quite understand how weird it was, and moves closer to look at whatever they were preparing. He only peeks through the foggy glass lid, eyeing the reddish soup that somehow smells good, then turns to Renjun.

“What are you guys making?” he asks, watching Renjun (still red-eared, by the way) fumble around the counter with Jeno suddenly clueless behind the latter. Jisung raises his brow, again.

“Hotpot,” Renjun shrugs, “I was craving, and Jeno was around so I asked him to help me prepare.” 

Hotpot night sounds good to Jisung, making his stomach churn with hunger. He shouldn’t have gamed in Jaemin’s room all day. So he hums excitedly as an indication that he’s looking forward to it.

Someone clears his throat. “We thought you weren’t around.”

Jisung turns to Jeno with a shrug, “I was in Jaemin-hyung’s room all day, playing games and napping. I didn’t notice the time.” He couldn’t help but eye the older, not failing to notice the tensed purse of lips and the squared shoulders. 

“Well, um,” Jeno replies. Jisung doesn’t miss the stuttering and the way he looks past his shoulder. “We should set the table, since I think the broth’s almost done. Right, Junnie?”

“Yeah.”

Jisung nods and shrugs it off. Was Jeno really that nervous about the onions? Did Jisung scare him that much for appearing so suddenly in the kitchen? Although both thoughts seem so unlikely of Jeno to be, the youngest didn’t want to ponder on it. A good meal of hotpot (and his angry stomach) is waiting.

He could have left it at that, but Renjun and Jeno sit awkwardly next to each other the whole dinner and Jisung is left wondering once more. 

↞⧫↠

That event led to another, of course. It has easily crawled and planted itself in Jisung’s memory - when Renjun and Jeno do so much as look at each other, Jisung finds himself looking for the familiar sparkle in both of their eyes. When the two stand next to each other, Jisung squints at the lack of space between them - especially in the way Jeno’s fingers seem to linger on Renjun’s waist longer than Jisung had expected him to like. 

He’d been spending a lot of time with the both of them too, albeit unintentionally. The other members are busy with their own time - Jaemin with his current drama, Chenle with his radio schedules, and both Mark and Donghyuck practicing with the older hyungs. So really, it’s either he’s alone and bugging his mom or he goes hang out with Jeno and Renjun.

Playing with them is fun, just like how it always is. When Renjun wants to go shopping, Jisung is easily convinced because everytime the older one goes out, he gets a free treat for a meal afterwards. And with Jeno, he’s not asking Jisung much aside from playing games with him, but the youngest is having fun every single time so it’s not wasted time. 

When the three of them hang out together, it’s usually with a movie and popcorn at nearly midnight. Tonight, though, is a little different. They’re bunched up and blanketed on top of Jaemin’s unfairly soft bed after deciding that they should make use of the boy’s wide screen monitor (actually, they’re just too bored of the living room already) and his room’s layout (the monitor faces the bed, how convenient is that). Jisung is sandwiched in the middle between Jeno and Jaemin, with Renjun at the far end. There’s an empty spot on their pile, reserved for Chenle when he arrives in a few minutes

“Are you sure that’s a good one?” Jaemin asks, shamelessly placing his legs across Jisung’s thighs, and his feet landing on Jeno’s.

Even in the dim lighting, with just the computer screen lighting up, Jisung sees Renjun nod under his cocoon of a blanket, but it’s Jeno who speaks, “It is. Renjun and I already watched this one.”

 _Renjun and I_ , Jisung repeats in his head in the same tone Jeno just did, _hyung’s been saying that a lot lately._

The Netflix intro plays, and soon, the movie is starting. 

It’s a Western movie - Jisung tries his best to catch up with the subtitles at the bottom while dealing with Jaemin’s offset and outright ridiculous commentary along with his squirming legs. Jeno is much more relaxed on his right though, despite Jaemin’s antics. Jisung wishes he could concentrate on the movie as much as the older could.

But of course, Jisung is easily distracted, and he’s taken a spot next to a worm (read: Jaemin who can’t stop moving).

The hushed whispers come one-third into the movie. Jisung doesn’t absorb a word from it, but he does know that it’s Jeno who’s whispering with the way his back vibrates a deep sound. He munches on what’s left of their popcorn bowl, straining his ears as he expected for Renjun’s reply. 

_Okay...later...you think?_

It doesn’t make sense, so Jisung stops trying to be nosy. Except it didn’t stop, not even in the next five minutes. It only grows louder, until it’s not so hushed anymore, but rougher and words flying out faster. Although still not enough to be coherent in Jisung’s ears. He figures it would only get awkward if he listened to them, so he focuses on the movie playing instead. Beside him, Jaemin stays unbothered. 

There’s a sharp intake of breath, another with what seemed like a tired sigh, then whatever whisper-shouting that’s been happening gets cut off by the door’s familiar doorbell tune. 

“Why is Chenle ringing the doorbell?” Jaemin grimaces. 

“I’ll go open it for him.” Jeno says and stands up without another word, with his back tensed against the remaining three in the room. His voice sounds a little weird, a bit strained. Jaemin is the one to pause the movie. 

“Is hyung,” Jisung mumbles hesitatingly, “okay?”

It’s not a familiar sight to see in Jeno. Anger is rare on the boy, and his controllable temper is one of the few things Jisung admires him for. So seeing his hyung feeling what could be assumed as irritation or anger is worrying, and even Jaemin has caught on. 

There’s a tiny bell tinkling in Jisung’s head. He takes the pieces together. The hushed whispers turning louder and more aggressive than what a random conversation in the middle of a movie night should be - it shouldn’t be hard to guess that it was something, an argument between Renjun and Jeno. 

Jisung worries, his poor lip between his teeth taking the brunt of it. Beside him, Jaemin munches on the last popcorn, the sound making the silent room even more awkward. Renjun stands up with a sigh. Jisung doesn’t need to see his face to guess how he must feel. So he just watches as the older boy totters to Jaemin’s door as if helpless.

“Hey, that’s my blanket.” Jaemin calls out. Renjun only releases the blanket and lets it slide to the floor before exiting the room with a soft shut of the door. 

“That was…”

“Weird,” Jaemin supplies for him, “and awkward, to be honest. Did they argue? About the movie? I mean, I get that they’re both passionate about watching movies - “

“I don’t think it was about the movie, hyung.”

They don’t get to discuss it more after that, because Chenle suddenly opens Jaemin’s bedroom door (rest in peace, Jaemin’s door hinges) with furrowed eyebrows and all in his padded jacket glory, “What was that? I thought this was movie night.”

“It still is movie night.” Jaemin cheers, making grabby hands at the bag of what could only be snacks that the Chinese boy has brought.

When the movie finishes and Jisung goes to bed, Renjun is not in their shared room. He’s too tired to worry, and just hopes his roommate isn’t outside at this hour. When he wakes up though, Renjun is still not there and his bed is still the same untouched one from last night. This time, Jisung worries and knocks on Jeno’s unlocked door twice, only to be met with no answer. He braces himself with a deep breath and pushes it open himself. 

He’s not met with a pillow on his face, which is what Jeno usually does when Jisung pounces on him in the morning, but with a rather surprising (and maybe, a bit endearing) sight - Jisung’s roommate is there on Jeno’s bed, wrapped in the latter’s arm and soft blankets. They lay peacefully facing each other, and it’s evident with the way their chests heave up and down at the same pace that they’re both comfortable. His worry flushes down, and although the scene is only making him doubt the existence of this very morning, Jisung gently closes Jeno’s door.

If only he looked closer, Jisung wouldn’t have missed the way Renjun clutches Jeno’s hand against his small chest. 

↞⧫↠

Jisung still has questions. He has more now that the intrigue in him has grown. The recent happenings between two of his hyungs only gave him more questions than answers.

Currently, they’re at the dressing room getting ready for a guest show. Jisung is getting his makeup done. Only a few touch-ups on the bridge of his nose and he’d be ready to burn that stage. He sees himself through the mirror - the outfit is familiar, so is his hairstyle and makeup. It’s been a while since they’ve performed, so Jisung feels the burn of nervosity mixing with his anticipation and excitement. 

Beside him, a fully dressed and performance-ready Donghyuck is watching bunny videos - specifically, a compilation of bunnies munching on celery. The fluffs are extremely cute, Jisung finds himself watching behind the older’s shoulder as more stylists fuss about his appearance. 

Waiting rooms are always busy. There are seven of them needed to be groomed, and it required them more people to fasten their preparation time. So it astonishes Jisung, that amidst the chaos, he still sees Renjun and Jeno in one corner through the mirror, both boys sitting on monoblock chairs facing each other. Their knees are touching, and in between lays their connected hands. The sight of them like this - all huddled close and smiling - makes Jisung feel...light of something. Almost as if happy just seeing Renjun’s deft fingers brushing Jeno’s bigger and longer ones. It’s a little crazy to still see the sparks in their eyes with a few feet range, much more through a _mirror_ -

Jisung gasps when he reads Renjun’s lips. _I love you_. 

He thinks Jeno returns the words by running his lips against Renjun’s knuckles softly. Not an equivalent, but just as strongly as the uttered words.

And just with that, the tinkling assumption in Jisung’s head grows louder and louder, now accompanied by colorful confetti and glitter when he’s come to an understanding. A _realization_. He shouldn’t be this surprised, really. Jeno and Renjun always had that connection and all of the members have come to see that as well, understanding that no matter how close to each other they are, some of their relationships are a bit different. 

Maybe right now, Jisung is endeared and taken aback that he was _right_. That that small itchy feeling was right, after all. He has more questions now, more than ever. Jisung wants to know everything; how it transpired, how did they _know_ they were in love, and how do they _love_. He wants to hear answers, like a boy on a summer's day aching for a cold drink. 

But if it is a secret, then it is theirs to tell.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to our lovely alw mods for being patient with me >.< and thank you so much for giving this a read!! 💕


End file.
